Nitrogen helps
above-ground leafy
growth and gives dark
green color to leaves.
Phosphorous helps
plant cell division.
Without phosphorous,
flowers and seeds
could not form.
Phosphorous also
helps root growth and
protects the plant from
disease.
Like phosphorous, potassium
increases the plant's resistance to
disease and helps root growth.
Potassium is needed for the
making of chlorophyll.
Water is essential to all life on
earth. No known organism can exist
without water. Plants use water to
carry moisture and nutrients from
the roots to the leaves and food
from the leaves back down to the
roots.
Green plants take in
carbon dioxide from air
and use it during
photosynthesis to make
food. Smoke, gases, and
other air pollutants can
damage plants.
Plants need
sunlight in order to
grow properly. They
use light energy to
change the materials
- carbon dioxide and
water into food
substances.
Plants make food in their leaves.
The leaves contain a pigment
called chlorophyll, which colors the
leaves green.
Making Food (2006), available:
http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/food.html
Plant Needs, Available:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/education/needs.htm
The great plant escape. Available:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case1/c1facts
2a.html